Holiday, Practice, and the Blues

I don't know if  I just can't get into the holidays or there is just sadness around me that jumps out.  I told you about my sister-in-law Amanda but shortly after that my step children found out that they are losing their mom to cancer. Cancer is one of the things we never want to hear.  I feel for these young adults.  I lost my mom when I was in my 30's and it was devastating to say the least. 

I have been working some on projects that have been started.  For Christmas my grandson will have a new stocking I have made for him.

 

All the handwork is finished.  Now I just need to get it put together!

 

This little guy just turned 2 in October just as his mother found out she was losing her mom.  He is such a cute little guy and I am sad for him.  Of coarse he has no idea what is going on but one day I know he will wish he had of known her.

 

 

 

 

I don't want to leave out Roxy.  She will be 6 soon.  My how the years pass.  I have not seen her in a long time.  I miss her terribly.  I will be making her something for Christmas too!

 

Roxy is my little cow girl!

 

I have also been free motion quilting. I worked on feathers some. I really am attracted to them so I really need a whole lot of practice on them. I discovered I was really trying to make them way to big for what I could handle. So I made them smaller and have had more success in doing them. So if you find you have less control on a big thing try smaller.

 

 

I am also working on a practice piece that is a table runner. It is still a work in progress. I have some ripping out to do and I have learned still more. Thread Thread Thread!!!! You thread and needles make such a difference. On this runner I am going crazy with the thread. It is not quality and it just doesn’t sew nice. I have now tried the threads from Superior. I am using Magnifico. I love it.
 

As you can see I marked the blocks from the one above.  I only did the center and the first flower. 

 

The one above will be torn out and redone.  I just don't like it.  I may do something else there.  It is just a practice piece so it does not have to be perfect.  I keep telling myself I am a beginner after all.  You can not expect to be perfect in anything you ever do but at least try to.  I still have a long way to go before I could give anyone my free motion quilting.

I also won some sewing needles from my favorite blogger. They are SUPERIOR Titanium-coated Topstitch Needles #90/14. I have not really gotten to use them quite yet but I will. Thank you Leslie from http://marvelesartstudios.blogspot.com/ Please check her out.  She is very talented.  She has inspired me tremendously!

Sunshine for Amanda

Okay folks this is my first finished piece.  I designed it much earlier.  I put it away and God Bless Amanda it looked like something I just had to do for her.  Amanda is the 29 year old daughter of my sister-in-law.  She has two young girls and has been through so much.  Sometimes I feel that we are learning when we get put through a ringer just so we know we can survive the worst things you can ever think of.  Amanda has been diagnosed with the last stage of Hodgkin's.  She is set to start chemo next week.  My thoughts and prayers are with her and have been these past few weeks.  Wendy is in my prayers too.  I can not imagine one of my girls given that diagnosis but I do know it could happen to each of us.  Time is the most precious thing we have.

 

 

 I just love the fabric by Jennifer Jangles.  It is so bright and cheery.  I hope Amanda likes it as much as I do.  It was built with a lot of love in it for her.  Stop in and see what all Jennifer does!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Jangles

 

 

 

 

 

This may not be my best free motion quilt but it is certainly one I put a lot of love in for Amanda.  I wish you the best Amanda.  I know you have a lot of fight in you because you have already proven that.  God Bless You and here's a little sunshine coming your way.

 

Last Of The Journey Into Free Motion Quilting

 

Okay I am going to come to the end of this section of quilting.  I have come a long way in the past few weeks.  I feel I am starting to get the hang of it and don't want to bore you with all of my practice.  It takes determination and time.  You have good days and bad days.  I have had a blast and next time you see something of this sort it will be on a finished product.  Mean while I will still practice in the hopes of becoming quite skilled at this.  It is fun for sure and time consuming for sure but it is worth while in my opinion.  I hope you too with try it if you haven't.  I hope you stick with it too.  That is the only way to get good at it.

More of my endeavors follow.

 

 

 

Practice will be the mirroring technique and the shadowing technique.  Those are places I need lots of work. Let me know if you too are learning.  I would love to hear from you.

Fiber Beads Not so Sparkly for Mitzie

The Journey into Free Motion Quilting 2

We have had a very busy week.  My husband had cataract surgery plus he had bone removed from his pallet in his mouth two weeks ago.  It has seemed like we have been at the doctors offices for two weeks straight. 

Although there has not been much time I am trying to sew everyday.  I have missed a few days but I got a few done today and feel that I am starting to relax a little.  When I get too tense it is time to quit and the sewing shows how tense I really am. 

This piece I have done twice.  I did it a long while back and it was horrible.  But this time I think I made the lines too close together but the sewing was better.  I now realize that with the bsr I need to push or pull the fabric in order for the foot to work. 

 

 

This looks nothing like I wanted it to look so there will be a redo on it.  Hopefully the next one will be right.

 

 

This is the redo several days later and I like it a whole lot better.

 

 



 

 

This next one was fun for me and helped quite a lot to work on restitching an area.  I still need lots of practice doing that.  It was not too bad and I see I am starting to get a hang of how my new machine operates.

 

This one was not too bad.  It makes me feel like I am on the edge of coming closer to how it should be.  It is a journey after all!

 

 

This next one is the first one I did yesterday.  I really took my time and I felt it is about the best one I have done so far.  But then the following one I butchered.  Opps got over confident!

 

This one I demand a redo on it too. It isn't quite what it should be and maybe none of them are.  Still I plug along because I want to be proficient at doing this.  I can hardly wait!  It is supposed to look like wood and it looks like quite a mess to me.

 

These next ones are from this afternoon.  Had trouble getting started and the way I see it.  All of these pieces will be do overs because when I get it....I want to see that I got it.

This one I won't be doing over.  I don't like it no way no how.  It is scribble to me and I can't see me ever using it in anything. 

 

This one is to be like waves.  I am not crazy about it either but I do want to learn the technique anyway.

 

 

Well that is all for this day.  Next time I will hopefully come closer yet to that elusive free motion quilting I long to do.

The Journey into Free Motion Quilting 1

Well I have my new machine set up and could hardly wait to use the Bernina Stitch Regulator.  I am not real sure how I feel about it.  It is quite foreign to me at this point.  I know that with the help I got from Leah Day http://www.daystyledesigns.com . I will get this whether or not I have a stitch regulator.  I have the first picture which was done on my Janome MC 4400.  It is very basic but it took me a long while to get the flow on it and because my machine is having mechanical probllems it was very frustrating to say the least.

 

It isn't the greatest thing but it is far better than when I started out!  This next picture is done on the bernina.  Mind you I don't have a feel for this machine.  The foot peddle is not as touchy as the other machine.  But heck I just jumped in!

 

This one is a good one to start with.  I wasn't the greatest but for starting out it isn't too bad.  I am sort of embarrassed to show these things because I totally suck at it so far.  My intention is to show my journey as I learn so that others who desire to learn realize that it does not come automatic.  It is a learned skill.  As we go through this journey you will see how I progress.  If you have any questions or tips for me I will always answer and of coarse tips are always appreciated.

 

 

This one is really bad!  I tore it out several times and then I said heck with it just let her fly.  I sure hope I get better soon. 

 

 Now here is where the fun begins! I just did this.  It is obvious I need to always warm up before starting.  Just loosen up a bit.  This was so bad I didn't want to finish it.  This is a keeper though because it will remind me of my humble beginning! 

New piece of fabric.  Set up with hands in desired position.  I slowed down a bit.  I am very very very nervous at this point.  I am learning so it is normal.  I can only take this for a short time at this point because I am so tense.  As I go I will loosen up.  It is better than the first one but I am not up to speed and it shows.

Well that is all I have done this far.  I can hardly wait till this becomes a part of who I am.  I have a lot of desire that is for sure.  I will look back one day and probably laugh at this.  I hope!

Free Motion Quilting

Time to have happy feet! Yesterday I bought a used Bernina 200/730 with a stitch regulator.  While it is being shipped to me I am still working on free motion quilting with my old Janome MC 4400.  I have struggled with that machine for about a year trying everything to get it to work right. I was having bobbin problems, threading problems, and a hosts of things I don't want to think about now!

Free motion quilting is an art in itself.  You are quilting a piece of fabric as you are drawing on it with thread.  I have some very favorite people that do this and I aspire to do my own style but I know I need to learn some basics first.  Techniques will help me do that.

I was extremely excited a few weeks ago when I found Leah Day online. http://www.daystyledesigns.com I quickly looked at all of her advise and it has made all the difference in the world.  I am going to go through her 365 days of free motion quilts and completed my first one last night with great pleasure. I have some of her products she sells now and it helps tremendously.  I have the bobbin washers, the supreme glider (what a help that is!) and the Machingers quilting glove. 

I feel like I have hit a mile stone running.  My machine however has not.  I am having huge problems with the first thread area clamping down onto my thread and not letting it run smoothly so I am constantly re threading.  I feel it is a machine problem and along with a bobbin problem I am constantly readjusting everything. 
It needs to go to the shop to be repaired.

The day before yesterday I found the machine at the right price for me and something I have always wanted.  I am excited I could hardly sleep thinking about it.  Of coarse with a new machine there is a ton to learn.  I spent the day yesterday looking at all the presser feet!  It amazes me how many there are.  I am anxious to get started learning. 

There will be pictures to come as I go through this 365 days of free motion quilting.  Time to go practice now!

Today my machine came in 07/24/2013  So let the fun begin!

Fabric Mixed Media Cuff

I began to have ideas strike me while browsing etsy.com. I decided to make my daughter a cuff. She is an artist so I knew I could run wild with it. I contacted her about her favorite color for clothing right now and we decided brown and turquoise.

I have been trying to no avail to free motion quilt on my machine. Finally I discovered part of what I was doing wrong. My thread was too thick and my needle too thin. I am not good at it and I need to practice practice practice. I ordered some threads from Connecting Threads. It was a 50/3 and when it came in I started on a cuff with some scraps I had before I went on to make Tammy’s cuff.

 

 

 

I decided that I would use fabric from the Northcott Fabric Stonehenge collection . It was mostly brown and some blue. I added some burnt copper peaces to complete it. As I gathered all the things I wanted to go with this peace I quickly ran out of space. I got carried away to say the least. Only part of what I want to use is on here. My daughter’s wrist is only 6.5 inches so that is not much room to do much.

Any with this is what I ended up with. I hope she likes and wears it often. It has beads, tyvek, copper, kreinik metallic threads, pearl cotton thread , pearl paint, and copper wire. It was a fun project from beginning to end.

 

That is it for now and back to that practice on Free Motion Quilting.  Sure would like a Bernina with a BSR! Maybe someday!